PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[Baglady]

K.M. TOEPFER
Undercut C30 (Absurd Exposition, 2018)
Interrupt C40 (Narcolepsia, 2019)
Supplant C30 (Lead Lozenges, 2020)
I've been revisiting this triple by the severely overlooked K.M. Toepfer the last few days, and I think I hold his work even higher than before now.  His box of tools is sparse but he knows exactly how to use it. Razor sharp sounds in razor sharp execution, without sounding too edited (on the contrary it sounds more like just a very seasoned artist letting it flow). I come to think of Joe Colley's work under his own name - their sounds in themselves and their surgical way of playing have much in common - but converted into something far more violently menacing. There's so much room and energy around Toepfer's sonic beams. Highly charged noise. Hazardous even. It spans from quiet to loud as hell, from subterranean to lunar, yet always with such force to it. And it's obvious he's still holding back for the sake of tension even at his harshest, always keeping you on your toes. It's as if one's walking through some giant high risk automated factory of malign purpose.
Out of these three, Undercut is the one that always leaves me mentally drained just from being so incredibly good. But damn if both Interrupt and Supplant aren't catching up over time. The latter is alot like his phenomenal CD album Retrace No Steps, released by WCN two years ago.
I wrote that he's severely overlooked, because I hope that is the case. The alternative - that people just don't get or like what he's doing - is just unthinkable to me.

[TVS]

Anatomikal Venus - Medicine and Myth CD (IOPS 2023)
Anatomikal Venus - Demonstration of Opened Beauties CD (IOPS 2023)

Very good stuff! Sharp cold electronics occasionally remind me of precise surgical cuts during an autopsy, other more brutal sounds of a bonesaw and other medical instruments. Metallic, lower pulsating and swooshing sounds behind the fast oscillations balance it out nicely. Visually sounding like the cellar of a decrepit hospital in new perverse uses.

Demonstration of Opened Beauties begins with more of the concrete metal sounds in the foreground, with ultra high pitch monotone electronics screeching continuously, topped with short high or low pulsations. Nice. Lots of small stuff happening constantly, becoming more and more complex as the album developes into fast electronic madness. Last two tracks are the highlights.

Nice IOPS style packaging in both releases.

[Hakaristi]

The Opulent Adversary CD mentioned above is excellent. Not sure if it's the content, savage vocal delivery or what but am reminded of Brethren.

Also some recent Satatuhatta releases on rotation, Kitu - Fiery Jinxes stood out the most so far. Somehow feels more industrial-noise than "usual" Sata-sound. Odd loops, throbbing pulse beneath the harshness, menacing PE atmosphere of final track. Prompted me to pull the split with Amek-Maj for a relisten but get more cosmic psych vibes from that one.

Hate Sermon - Steel Fortress

Promising PE/industrial. Look forward to spinning Children of God next.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

HUFFWUDH tape
cev-001
Not sure is Barrikad now over, but from same source from Gothenburg Sweden comes more noise oriented project. Short, I understood sort of "taster" what is about to come, tape offers live in "studio" recordings of kind of gutter arkinoise. Nothing overly special, but if the tape loops and field recordings and piano noodling, neat noise gadgets and complex modulations don't really do the trick and you just want the simplistic and to the point noise, it does have its point. Doesn't like like MSNP fanboys, not like power electronics, none of "Swedish tape noise" characteristics. Just blunt recordings that for reason or another, I must have rotated already 5-6 times thinking what to really say about it.. Something lured to listen again, while very little selling points here! hah..

AXEBREAKER "United Front Against Fascism" tape
Somatic
When you get both messages about it and forum recommendations, perhaps worth to check out? Mr. Locrian doing solo of "drone - heavy electronics - power electronics". You hear rather high dosage of later days Slogun. That approach where you got the tonal synth sound on back, and heavily delay effect treated high pitched screamo voice on top. Electronics are not noisy nor broken, nor sharp or anything. More like polyphonic keyboard key pushed down and echo applied -type of approach. He will throw in some high pitched synth noises in some tracks and plenty of quasi-melodic synth drone material. Not sure if it really is "heavy electronics" or "power electronics" per se. It is that fairly new genre of melodic synth drone screamo?  Lots of stuff found from artists bandcamp.
https://somaticaustin.bandcamp.com/album/united-front-against-fascism

IRON CLAD "Systematic Racism" tape
Wrath
Perhaps diametrically opposite, is IC tape that is gutter snot production value, raw and ripping sounds combined with suffocating rumbling. Processed vocals, some nasty samples and so on. Very much echoing the impact of most cruel filth & violence material had.

MET GLAS "Moody Brooding" tape
Absurd Exposition
I can't really articulate why exactly, but this tape ended up to be one of the most played harsh texture tapes of recent times. Can't explain why this, over multiple possibilities. Maybe the cover? Maybe the packaging including surprising object. Maybe it is just notch better than many texture focused harsh tapes? I am not only imagining, since talked to other guy who mentioned this among highlights of recent Absurd Exposition tapes.

TEMPLE OF TIERMES "Horagelles" 2xLP
Speaks Volumes
Album what you don't really know when it actually came out. Feels like it has been advertised for years, but mastering date says 2021. Well, it came out earlier this year, I think, and it is now late summer 2023 and finally in my hands. Album has very good tracks, some kind of unexpected tracks. Some very average material. I would have recommended to make single LP with absolute best tracks. That would have made more impact. At best, TOT has totally unique vision how they make tracks. Odd harmonies or weird guitar drone howling, shifting in almost diabolical notes, without being music per se. Then next track can be almost like "my first industrial-noise track" -esque recordings. It is good album, and listened several times already, but feels like band would need someone to selected what exactly to put on album to make it better.

[Baglady]

KSNK - Murska CD (Freak Animal, 2023)
Well, I didn't see this coming after that first CD which compiled a couple of early recordings. That CD, while also quite original, filed itself at some crossing inbetween rugged industrial and power electronics. The kinship between that material and Murska is there, but Murska is still something completely different. Straight up audio documentation of rock- and stone-crushing machinery doing its job. I'm not sure if these recordings were processed or tampered with in any way, but if they were it was with a very light hand. Doesn't matter, really, as the recordings are so rich with depth and detail that I can't think of what to add or change. Jeph Jerman's two albums for WCN cone to mind, as does the brilliant TNB - First Live Performance LP on VOD. What sets Murska apart from those the most though isn't the lack of obvious rearranging or tampering, but the lack of tension. As I wrote, it's machinery doing its job. In a way, you could compare this to one of those slow, barely or completely unnarrated TV documentaries about an industry which might be on its last waltz (at least in our part of the world) - harbours, factories, technical maintenance and whatever. This record serves that documentary purpose to me. Very matter of fact. And beautiful for being just that. Heartfelt even, for those of us who used to work under rather unsanitary conditions with old machines just a couple of decades ago. Gives me flashbacks to downing that first cup of awful coffee and starting up some highly unsafe and outdated press machine, watching it chomp and chop away for hours. Lovely album.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Story is that artists sent the long piece for Terässinfonia compilation. I mentioned it is a great track, but compilation idea is to have 7-12 artists, something in that range, short tracks. Something can extend longer.. so far longest up to 9 minutes.. but 18 mins? Almost half of comp being one artist. I told track is so good, there should be KSNK album built around it. There were material done already, and it was merely matter of having album flow together. We talked should or should it not be "mastered". Fully knowing that artistry of bouncing audio via tape could bring it more juice - but then again, it would make it more "normal noise". Decision to leave it as it, complete without edits, including the wind sounds and such. Leaving the weird alarm in the end of disc and so on. For me, it just underlined how unusual album it is. KSNK seems to be always different. His tracks on Terässinfonia ja Kolari compilations just add into situation that you can't really predict what he is going to do next.

[Baglady]

JET PARTITIONS - Parameters 2xCS (Obscurex, 2012)
A dear buddy knew I had taken Umpio to heart in recent years, so he gave me a bunch of cassettes he felt done with. This unique sounding nugget was one of them. Doesn't sound quite like anything else. JET PARTITIONS = Risto Puurunen and Pentti Dassum. "Drills, radiator, chains, tools, junkstruments + electronix". Pentti's crisp, tactile and seam-ripping yet loose racket against a background of more laidback almost post mortem:ish industrial, presumsbly courtesy of Puurunen. But who knows? Either way, a damn match made in heaven, Jet Partitions.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

MET GLAS "Moody Brooding" tape
Absurd Exposition
I can't really articulate why exactly, but this tape ended up to be one of the most played harsh texture tapes of recent times. Can't explain why this, over multiple possibilities. Maybe the cover? Maybe the packaging including surprising object. Maybe it is just notch better than many texture focused harsh tapes? I am not only imagining, since talked to other guy who mentioned this among highlights of recent Absurd Exposition tapes.

Been getting a lot of plays over here as well. I LOVE the packaging. I already knew the artist and each release was really good but this one pushes it over the edge for some reason. Soundscape itself is not exploring new territory per se, but done with an energy and exuberance that is not matched easily. Really top-notch release and love everything by the project so far. 40-minute length makes you think maybe this will get tiring but it doesn't.

The whole new Scream and Writhe batch is good. I already wrote a review on the ZK tape which deserves more attention as well.

[Eastern Embargo]

Bastard Noise / Unglee Izi - Escape To Infinity / The New Dark Horizons (2023)

Large suspended bass bombs for the ears. Quite a treat this one.

Purchased directly from Eric Wood on Facebook. Comes with stickers, hand-written note, patch, etc. Great!

[Balor/SS1535]

Bastard Noise / Unglee Izi - Escape To Infinity / The New Dark Horizons (2023)

Large suspended bass bombs for the ears. Quite a treat this one.

Purchased directly from Eric Wood on Facebook. Comes with stickers, hand-written note, patch, etc. Great!

I still need to listen to this one.  I talked to Eric at a show before this came out, and he seemed to genuinely excited about working with Unglee Izi.  Passion went into that collaboration, I could tell.

[SIEGSIEGSIEG]

Stromstad - New Devoted Human (2017)
"Stromstad is a collaborative project between Jasse Tuukki and Toni Myöhänen of STROM.ec and Kristoffer Oustad"

I keep returning to this album for some reason. In a 12 month period I have listened to this album like 7 times according to last.fm. It has all the qualities which I enjoy tremendously: shouted PE vocals, pulsating (martial sounding) rhythms which have somewhat a musical quality and you can almost nod your head to them. Reminds me of some Grunt songs, Genocide Organ (specially the song "Klaus Barbie") and most Brethren songs.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

I don't know if the live show was recorded, but they did perform this album live in Tower Transmissions. In live situation it was very good, but also there was plenty of pre-prepared substance. Everybody adding sounds, and of course the trademark vocals, but not sure if they ever felt live recording (if it exists) would be worth to make public? Would listen to, if there would be possibility!

[Krigsverk]

That album is pure gold, one of those instances where two great projects get even better when they get together.

[New Forces]

Green Tea - Children of the Wisteria (Satatuhatta) CD
Fantastic second effort from Green Tea. Pursues a somewhat more overt new age vibe amidst the psychedelic harsh noise than the first CD I released on New Forces earlier this year. Particularly on the last track you can hear echoes of mid-2000s groups like Emeralds, The Skaters, Marble Sky, Arbor, Young Tapes, that whole vibe... but that's just one reference among many, the thrashing CCCC-evoking noise remains, and this continues to be one of the more interesting and unique new projects (albeit from an accomplished "old head"). When the first two Green Tea demos showed up in my mailbox from Nick I knew he had something special, and we'll be doing the follow-up to the "Snowblower" CD on New Forces in 2024. Check out Green Tea, you will not be disappointed.

[Zeno Marx]

Frieder Butzmann - Early 4 Title Set (1980-1987)

I've started this set a couple of times, enjoy what I hear, but never finish it for various reasons.  Never heard of him before.  I would imagine he would be of interest to some here.  He moves from Cagey academia to synth explorations to crude electronics to vintage experimentation to quasi power-electronics.  The consistency is in the above average quality of everything he does.  I don't get bored with any of it.  I get moody and want to hear another style of music.  If he'd worked under a filthy pseudonym, some of it would likely be considered classic, or at least maybe proto, material.  If anyone knows about him, I'm interested.